“Oh, come on!” an ornery older man behind her grumbled. “What the hell ever happened to the good old days of using cash?”

Meredith ignored him and tried her Apple iPay again. She sighed with relief when it finally went through and snatched up the bagel and latte from the counter, spinning to glare at the man at her back.

She was slightly surprised to realize he was no older than forty, but the pinched expression on his face made him seem twice that age.

“You know what else they had in the good old days, sir?” she snapped. “Respect.”

The rest of the line erupted in snickers as the smartly dressed blonde spun away, ignoring the grumbling of the man at her back. She stepped onto the sidewalk, where a brunette, standing by the town car, shook her head almost appreciatively.

“I sense that this will be a freaking glorious day. You?” Catalina asked, as Meredith slapped the bagel and coffee into her outstretched hands. “I could have gone in for you.”

“What? And miss my daily dose of connecting with the public?” Meredith asked with a slight tilt of her lips. “How will I know how the other half lives if I don’t interact with Grouchy Joe and Betty Barista?”

The broad-shouldered driver opened the door as Meredith dug into her purse for her cell, smiling appreciatively as she slid into the car before Catalina.

“And how did you know I gave him shit?” she asked the paralegal, not looking up from her phone.

“You forget I speak four languages and lip read like a pro,” Catalina replied slyly.

“How could I forget?” Meredith sighed, sliding inside the leather interior, her eyes glued to her phone. “You’re my secret weapon at most of our meetings.”

“You know that’s why you pay me the big bucks, right? So I can do your bidding, and get your coffee – in any language?”

Meredith’s lips almost lifted into a grin, until…

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

“What?” Cat demanded, noting the alarmed look on her boss’ face. “What happened?”

“George, you need to take me to the office right away,” Meredith called, leaning forward to speak to the driver, her eyes sparking with irritation.

“Yes, Ms. Maddox,” the driver conceded, abruptly pulling a U-turn. All around them, horns blared in protest, but George was unfazed by their indignation. He’d been driving long enough to face any and all wrath that came with driving the staff at Ruiz, Maddox and Pearlman.

“But you have a meeting with— ” Cat started, but she stopped speaking when she caught Meredith’s irritated look. “Right. Cancelling that meeting…what happened?”

Meredith didn’t respond immediately, instead turning her attention back to the cell phone in her hand, her fingers working furiously to respond to the messages.

It has to be Monday morning, she thought, inhaling sharply. Shit like this only happens on Monday morning. Then again, every day feels like a Monday at this office.

She spared a glance at her assistant. “You may as well cancel the rest of my day too.”

“Are you sure whatever happened is that bad, Mer?” Catalina asked, appearing confused.

“Yes,” Meredith sighed heavily. “It is. It’s even possible you might have to reschedule the rest of my week.”

“Okay,” Catalina replied with confusion. It wasn’t like her boss to be melodramatic, so this “issue” had to be something big. It also wasn’t in her boss’s personality to explain herself, so Catalina knew she’d have to be patient.

When a problem was put before Meredith, her mind was usually attacking the issue from every possible angle – before everyone else had even started dealing with it. She was a brilliant strategist – probably the reason for her unparalleled success.

So Catalina just nodded her head crisply and pulled out her iPad to start the herculean task of re-arranging the schedule. It was one of the reasons that Catalina had lasted so long at Ruiz, Maddox and Pearlman. Catalina knew how to follow instructions without questioning them. It was a valued and rare trait to find amongst staff, but Catalina had always been a quick learner. Meredith knew that she was taking the paralegal with her wherever she might end up in the future.

With half an ear on Catalina, Meredith continued to answer emails as the black town car made its way toward the sterile but stylish building which housed their prestigious law firm.

“Shall I wait, Ms. Maddox?” George asked as he opened the door, but Meredith shook her layered waves.

“I don’t think so, George but I’ll call you if I need to head back out.”

“Very well, Ma’am.”

Meredith grimaced at the address but she said nothing. In her position, there wasn’t too much she could do about being called “ma’am” anymore, even if it made her feel a thousand years old.

You’re a senior partner now, on your way to the big leagues. It’s all ma’am and madam from here on out. You better get used to it.

The ride up the elevator to the fiftieth floor was silent, even though Meredith could feel Catalina’s eyes on her, waiting patiently for an explanation which didn’t come.

What can I tell her? I’m not even sure what the hell is happening.

“Wait in my office,” Meredith instructed her. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be.”

Her black pumps clicking evenly as she pushed her way into the stairwell and climbed the next two flights to the executive offices.

Zenon eyed her appreciatively from the reception desk as she approached.

“Where is she?” Meredith asked without preamble.

“Good morning, Mer. You’re looking fabulous in burgundy.”

“You’re still not getting access to my walk-in,” she assured him. “Conference room or office?”

Zenon pouted, his pale face falling like a petulant child’s as he sat back to answer an incoming call.

“Conference room. They’re all there.”

No shocker there.

She blew past Zenon’s desk and made her way into the inner office, her pulse quickening as she moved. It never failed to impress her how the electricity of power could hit her like a bolt every time she wandered onto the posh executive floor.

It seemed strange that she would still feel the tingle of excitement after all these years. After all, Meredith had basically been raised among the steel and glass, the piles of briefs and legal jargon. These things were as normal in her world as apple juice and Oreo cookies were to most little girls.

Still, the wave of elation she felt walking through the walls of Ruiz, Maddox and Pearlman, whether there in the downtown core or in their starting offices on the outskirts of Detroit, was always enough to invigorate her.

“Oh, thank God,” Yvette Ruiz sighed, waving at her through the glass walls. “You’re here.”

“I was on my way to meet with the class action— ” Meredith started to say, but the other woman partner waved her hand, effectively cutting her off in mid-sentence.

“We’ve got much bigger problems than the class action,” she muttered, nodding toward the table where the two other partners were already seated.

Howard Pearlman’s mouth became a fine line of contempt as his beady eyes raked over Meredith’s curvy figure and he grunted loudly to show his disapproval.

“Don’t you think this is going to look a little bit like nepotism?” Howard barked toward David Maddox. “Bringing your daughter in for this?”

“Meredith is a senior partner now,” her father replied shortly, shooting a scathing look towards Howard. “And she’s precisely what we need right now.”

Meredith wisely held her tongue, more because she wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing there either, but she was certain she would learn soon enough. Howard Pearlman was renowned for his griping. She knew not to take it personally. Whomever stood in the conference room at that moment would have taken the brunt of his distaste.

Whatever the reason they have for calling me in, it looks like it’s a showstopper.

Howard scoffed and folded his arms over his chest, shaking his balding head.

“You’re going to run our firm into the ground with this bullshit,” the surly older man snapped. “Mark my words.”

“If I recall, Howard, ‘Ruiz and Maddox’ existed just fine before you came along,” Yvette barked at the bitter man. But Meredith noticed that Yvette’s dark eyes purposely avoided her own.

Oh crap. If Mom isn’t looking at me, it’s even worse than I thought.

“Sit down, Mer,” David instructed. “Dina, get Meredith some coffee.”

“I have a coffee,” Mer replied, showing her Starbuck’s cup. “Why don’t we just cut to the chase and tell me what you want.”

Howard snickered, and for the first time, she thought she saw a glimmer of appreciation in his eyes.

Note to self: being an asshole scores points with Howard Pearlman.

“Sit down,” Yvette barked, her pleasant demeanor fading, and Meredith knew she had just been “mommed.”

The blonde sank into a chair and faced her parents defiantly. But she couldn’t deny that whatever challenge they were throwing at her was giving her an insurmountable rush – even if that rush was laced with a tad of dread.

“You know why you’re here, more or less,” David said firmly, studying Meredith’s face with his impassive “attorney” expression. “There has been a tragic death.”

Meredith swallowed a snort. Knowing what she knew about the deceased, “tragic” was not a word she would have used to precede his untimely demise.

“Terrible,” Meredith managed to choke out.

“In more ways than I can explain,” Yvette lamented, and Meredith’s eyebrows shot up. It wasn’t like her composed mother to speak so freely. Gooseflesh exploded over Meredith’s arms and her emerald eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

“I don’t need to tell you what kind of billables his company brings into this firm,” David said quickly, casting his wife a reproving look.

“Twenty-three and a half percent of our billables,” Meredith intoned. “and that’s without including the merger with Alpine Tech—or is that still a go now that he’s croaked?”

“Meredith!” Yvette chided. “Have some respect for the dead.”

“Sorry. Is the merger still happening?”

There was a long silence as the partners looked to one another and Meredith tried to read their expressions, but they were highly trained in hiding their emotions. She could feel the rising tension in the room.

“That is a complex question,” David finally offered. “In fact, the future of Vaughan Industries hangs in the balance right now.”

Meredith cocked her head to the side curiously.

“That sounds both ominous and ridiculous,” she replied. “How can a company of that magnitude be threatened?”

“It’s complicated,” Howard volunteered, speaking to her for the first time. “Carter Vaughan was a complicated man.”

“He was a dick,” Meredith replied without thinking, her mind traveling to the only encounter she had ever had with the bastard. She’d needed a shower afterward and hadn’t even exchanged three words with him at that meeting. All he’d had to do was look at her and she felt like she’d been caught in a scummy pond.

“Meredith!” Yvette snapped. “Some respect, please.”

She shrugged nonchalantly.

“Something tells me he isn’t putting in a good word at the pearly gates for anyone,” the blonde laughed. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Yes, well, be that as it may,” Howard continued. “He was one of our biggest clients and his company must remain on our books.”

“Why wouldn’t it?” Meredith wanted to know.

“Because Mr. Vaughan seemed to think that he would live forever,” David sighed. “And he hasn’t revised his will.”

Meredith stared at her father uncomprehendingly.

“Okay…?”

“His son, Luke James Vaughan is the company’s beneficiary,” Yvette interjected, shaking her head as her husband didn’t get to the point quickly enough. “And that might pose a problem.”

“How’s that?” Meredith wanted to know. She wished they’d spare her the courtroom theatrics and get to the point so she could get back to work. Spending her morning with her parents was not the way Meredith wanted to spend the beginning of her week.

“Luke hasn’t spoken to his father in almost fifteen years.”

Meredith blinked once and waited.

“And?” she demanded when no one added anything else. “So what? You think he’s going to walk away from a multi-billion-dollar empire? He’s probably been biding his time, waiting for the old man to die so he can collect. What’s the problem?”

“I don’t think it’s that simple, Mer,” David sighed. “In fact, he slammed the door in my face when I told him that Carter was dead.”

Meredith’s mind began to race.

Who does that? Even if he hated his old man, he should be chomping at the bit to get his money and spend it on coke, or fast cars, or whatever, right?

“What does that mean? If he doesn’t take it, what happens? Is there another kid? Next of kin?”

“According to the will, Luke has to take over the company or it’ll be dismantled and sold off, piece by piece,” he paused dramatically. “And the proceeds going to politicians and political campaigns all over the world. He was a cagey businessman and he knew exactly whose palms to grease and what policies he wanted instituted – then he made it happen. However, I don’t have to tell you what that would mean for this firm.”

“Wh-what? Why would Carter—I mean, if they were estranged…” she trailed off, trying to get into the mind of the ruthless old bastard. It made no sense that he wouldn’t change his will after fifteen years of not speaking to his son.

There’s got to be more to this than meets the eye, Meredith thought. But what?

“I can’t speak to why he wouldn’t change up his will. Maybe he thought his son would come around or maybe he really did think he was immortal. I mean, the man’s ego…” Yvette muttered. She quickly stopped herself from speaking as if she realized that she, too, was speaking poorly of the dead.

“Well, you can’t force the son to take it, I guess…” she carried on, going through the motions in her own mind. But as the words left her lips, she realized the enormity of what that would mean for the firm.

We can’t afford to lose a quarter of our annual billings in one fell swoop. We’ll never recover from that!

Her parents seemed to realize she had gotten where they were in their minds and leaned forward, folding their hands over the boardroom table tersely.

“So, you understand the problem,” Yvette asked quietly.

“Yes…” Meredith conceded. “But I don’t know what you want me to do about it. You just told me he slammed the door in your face.”

In sync, both her parents fell back into their respective seats and exhaled in unison.

“What?” Meredith demanded, her heartrate resuming a thudding in her chest. “What are you scheming?”

“Nothing!” David snapped, sounding offended at the implication. “We brought it to you first because we thought you might have a certain way with Junior that others…might not.”

If Meredith had been more naïve, she might have balked at the suggestion, but she didn’t need to think twice about what she was being asked.

“What makes you say that?” she asked curiously. Howard slid a file across the desk toward her and Meredith reached for it, nodding as she looked through the compilation on Luke Vaughan.

He certainly has a type, doesn’t he? She thought wryly, pouring through the pictures of busty, blonde bombshells fawning over him at various events.

“You want me to seduce Luke Vaughan and convince him to take over the company.”

It wasn’t a question, nor did it upset Meredith in the least. She knew her parents weren’t expecting her to sleep with the man, only appeal to his primitive masculine side until he signed the necessary paperwork. Or at least, she hoped that’s what they were thinking. It was hard to tell with Yvette and David sometimes. It wasn’t like she knew them that well, even if they had borne and raised her.

If you can call it raising.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘seduce’, Mer. We just think that you would be more convincing than say, Howard,” Yvette cajoled. “And if you’re uncomfortable, you can say no, obviously. No one will hold it against you.”

“But,” David interjected quickly, giving Yvette a warning look. “If you say yes and you’re successful, there will be a promotion waiting for you.”

Meredith’s head jerked up and she looked at him in disbelief.

“I was just promoted to senior partner,” she reminded him. “What kind of promotion?”

The partners looked at one another again and Meredith felt her heartrate skyrocket as she realized what they were offering her.

“Name partner?” she whispered breathlessly. “You’ll make me name partner if I deliver on this?”

“Yes,” Howard agreed solemnly. Meredith ignored the fact that he didn’t seem happy about the offer at all.

She gaped at them in disbelief, blood rushing through her ears with so much intensity, it was almost impossible to hear anything else.

Name partner before I’m thirty. This is the dream!

“Well?” Howard asked impatiently. “What do you say?”

“I say that I’ll need to change my last name, because Ruiz, Maddox, Pearlman and Ruiz-Maddox is going to sound weird,” Meredith snickered. “But you have yourselves a deal.”